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History of the Cherokee Indians, by noted Cherokee historian Emmet Starr, and Indian Territory by D. C. Gideon, have been donated to the Cherokee Nation by Robert and Lois Whisenhunt of Sacramento, California.

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Two first-edition, foundational Cherokee history and genealogy books by well-known authors have been donated to the Cherokee Nation by Robert and Lois Whisenhunt of Sacramento, California.

The first book, History of the Cherokee Indians, was written by noted Cherokee historian Emmet Starr. The second book, Indian Territory by D. C. Gideon, is more commonly known as Gideon’s History of Indian Territory.

“These books are family heirlooms as well as significant history books, and it was very kind of the Whisenhunts to donate them to the Cherokee Nation. I had not seen one of them before and look forward to reading it. We are pleased to have the books and appreciate the Whisenhunt family’s generosity,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Emmet Starr’s text, originally published in 1921, has been called the “single most valuable resource of authentic material on the personal history and biography of the Cherokee people,” according to well-known Cherokee legal scholar Rennard Strickland, who penned Starr’s biography for Houghton Mifflin’s online Encyclopedia of North American Indians. This book begins with Cherokee origins, outlines the tribe’s early history, and highlights the tribe’s social institutions in Indian Territory before ending with a lengthy examination of the tribe’s “Old Families.”

Gideon’s text, originally published in 1901 and massive at 956 pages, has been called “a comprehensive history of the Five Civilized Tribes from removal until . . . at least 1900” (Motes, Genealogical Resources in U.S. Federal Depository Libraries) and examines the five tribes’ languages, cultures, mores, and educational and religious systems. The book is roughly divided into three major sections. The first section looks at the origins of Native Americans and chronicles the tribes’ histories from initial contact with Europeans through removal west of the Mississippi; the second examines the five tribes themselves and the major towns they established in Indian Territory; and the third and by far the longest contains lengthy biographical sketches of important tribal members.

Both books contain numerous photographs, sketches, tables of statistics, and indexes. Both will be preserved and protected by the tribe.

The Whisenhunts donated these texts to the Cherokee Nation “with the hope that the younger generation of Cherokees will read and study them so that they can know and appreciate our great heritage.”

Related Cherokee Nation contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org